Help me with my Kolsch...

So we brewed a Kolsch recipe from a local HB shop last year and it did not come out the way we wanted it to. I want to do a partial mash Kolsch. I would like this Kolsch to be a nice thin, smooth Kolsch that you could drink anyday of the week. Please help...

Here is what ive come up with...

3.50 lb Light DME
3.00 lb Pilsner 2 Row
1.00 lb White Wheat Malt
1.00 lb Vienna Malt

1.00 oz Tettnang (60 mins)
0.50 oz Sazz (40 mins)
0.50 oz Spalter (15 mins)
0.25 oz Sazz (10 mins) Aroma
0.25 oz Spalter (10 mins) Aroma

1 pkgs Wyeast Labs #2526

My suggestion witht he Koelsch is this:

Use x-light DME (or pilsner DME). You will be much happier with it.

Also, when I brew my Koelsch (all grain) it is 7lbs of pils and 2lbs of wheat. No other grains. Not sure why a vienna would be in it?

Vienna Malt
(Lightly kilned)
Vienna is a rich, aromatic malt that will lend a deep color and full flavor to your finest Vienna or Märzen beers. It has sufficient enzyme power for use as 60 to 100% of total mash.

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Koelsch is light light light!

Also, you are shooting for 20-25 IBU's... your hop bill is HUGE for this beer. Again, I use somethin like 2 oz of Spalt (low AA) for the entire beer. One addition at 60 and one at 10. Still, do what you would like!

Finally, I don't know the nubmers right, but I assume you have a koelsch yeast.

I'd drop most the grains. I'd just do a bunch of XL DME. You could do a small mini-mash with just the 2lb wheat, it'll convert itself. (Might want to throw in a small handful of rinsed rice hulls.)

I guess - to keep the color light, and to prevent a massive late addition of extract... I'd do 3lb pilsner, 2lb wheat, and just drop the Vienna. Sorry, I didn't catch that you *wanted* a partial-mash the first time through. That's my bad, I misread.

Hop schedule looks just fine. Although, if it were me, I'd use the Spalter all at 60 mins, and then 1/2 1/2 of Tett and Saaz for the later additions. (Just personal preference. I didn't much like Spalt the only time I used it, but I adore Saaz and Tett.)

+2 to dropping the Vienna. 100% Pils is my vote. You can still partial-mash; use 4 lbs of Pils in the mash and make up the rest of the OG with Pilsner/Extra-Light DME (late addition).

The Koelsch I used to brew was really a SMaSH, 100% Pils and 100% Saaz. I used a step mash, adding a protein rest at 122F before ramping to 148-150F.

Prost,

Bob

BobNQ3X said:

+2 to dropping the Vienna. 100% Pils is my vote. You can still partial-mash; use 4 lbs of Pils in the mash and make up the rest of the OG with Pilsner/Extra-Light DME (late addition).

The Koelsch I used to brew was really a SMaSH, 100% Pils and 100% Saaz. I used a step mash, adding a protein rest at 122F before ramping to 148-150F.

Prost,

Bob

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Exactly, you don't need wheat in a Kolsch